The Soul
by n0t0k
Summary: The mark means that the person has a soulmate. For Keith and Pidge, this is a problem. The symbols of the soul mark are the first words one's soulmate will say to them. This turns out to be an issue for Hunk and Shiro, though. The colour represents the person's eye colour. It's here that Lance lucks out, though he doesn't know that yet.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

Shiro was sure his soul mate was an alien- How else would one explain the strange symbols on his wrist which resembled no human language on earth?

Lance flirted with every single girl he met- What else was he supposed to do to make his soulmate say the words circling around his wrist?

Keith had resigned himself to the fact that the universe had not seen it fit to give him a soulmate- Why else would he not have a soul mark?

Hunk tried not to think too much about his soul mark because it was weird- Where soul marks supposed to glow in the dark?

Katie had other more important things to worry about then her soul mark- But for crows sake why had it not shown up yet?!

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Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro as his friends called him, had a soul mark once- before _they_ took his arm.

Like most soul marks it curled around the wrist of his dominant hand and was the colour of his soulmate's eyes, windows to the soul. All soul marks were the colour of the eyes of one's soulmate… Not that Shiro had ever met anyone with eyes the colour of his mark.

The mark was blue, blue as the crystal ocean waves only seen in the warm climate of the tropics where water was pure and clean. There was also a hint of pink caught between the deep clear blue. It always made him think of a sparkling tide pool with an exquisite sea shell resting below the surface. It was beautiful… yet completely bizarre. Who had pink tints in their irises?

The colour was not the only strange aspect of his soul mark. Instead of words circling around his wrist there were strange symbols. It was not unheard of for a person to have a mark they could not read. It usually meant that their soulmate's first words to them would be in a different language. But Shiro's markings were not those of another language. He had checked. He had had a linguist friend of his check. He had even gone far enough to look into the many ancient writings of civilizations now long past. The symbols on his hand were from no language on earth. Key word, _on_ earth.

At first Shiro had no clue what to make of his mark with it non human language. Part of him wondered if the writing was not only not from this earth, but not from this galaxy… he kind of believed in aliens.

But belief in ufos and aliens in Area 51 were for conspiracy theorists or syfy fans, not up and coming exploration pilots of the respectable Garrison military base. Sure lots of people spoke in theory about such things as aliens, but no one was silly enough to believe it.

Except for Mr. Holt.

Before Shiro ever met the famed scientist, Samuel Holt, he admired the man. Dr. Holt wa a genius and highly respected for his work and contributions to both the field of science and the Galaxy Garrison itself. Not only was he one of the most brilliant minds in the Garrison as well as their top scientist, but Holt also held the record among his fellow scientists for most expeditions in space.

Dr. Holt, however, did have one flaw. He was a strong believer in aliens. Everyone put up with the brilliant man's silly infatuation, believing that ever genius had to have at least one quirk.

When Shiro was informed that he had been assigned to be the pilot for the Kerberos mission, he was utterly surprised. Not just because of how important this mission was to the Galaxy Garrison, but because he was also told that Dr. Holt had asked for him specifically to be their pilot.

Shiro had only met the man once, and that conversation had been very brief and formal. But now Shiro suddenly found himself being invited into the Holt's very home to have dinner. Apparently Holt felt it was vital that he and his son (the other scientist assigned to this mission) get to personally know their pilot.

It was actually during that first dinner that the topic of aliens came up, though not as Shiro would have expected. Matt noticed Shiro's soul mark peeking out from his sleeve and immediately asked for a closer look. The young man, who was somewhat of a linguist expert, confirmed what Shiro already knew- the writing on his wrist was of no language known to man.

But then something amazing happened. Matt revealed his own mark which was just as alien looking as Shiro's.

Thus began the first of what soon would be many conversations Shiro had with the Holts about aliens. By the time Shiro, Samuel Holt, and Matt Holt got into their spaceship a month later Shiro's tentative hope that aliens were real had become a strong belief. It no longer became a question of 'if' aliens were real, but 'when' the first contact would be made.

Turned out 'when' was a lot sooner than any of them had thought… and it certainly was not as exciting or wonderful as they thought it would be.

Now, fighting every day just to survive against alien after alien surrounded by a cheering crowds of aliens, Shiro wished he had never met any alien. He found it fitting that the arm with his soulmate mark had been severed off. The idea of finding love among the stars was ludicrous to him now as he struggled every moment just to stay alive.

But sometimes, like right now, Shiro still saw in the back of his mind the beautiful blue symbols with a center of pink encircling his once whole arm. He remembered perfectly each curve and line of his mark and could see the colour shining brightly against the black backdrop of his blackening consciousness as he drifted away into fitful sleep.

Whenever he saw those beautiful, soothing marks in his mind's eye he would allow himself to briefly imagine that his soulmate was out there- waiting for him, calling to him, needing him to come and find them among the billions of brightly shining stars.

Not many people may know this about Shiro, but he was a bit of a romantic- even in these darkest of times.

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Lance McClain _was_ known for being romantic… or more accurately, a huge flirt. He did, despite how hard it might be to believe, have a good reason for all the flirting.

Lance and his siblings had been born out of a bond of true love. His mother and father were connected to each other on a level that few people -even soulmates- experienced. They loved each other, truly and utterly.

But it seemed the universe could only allow so much good fortune to happen to one person and in the end they had to pay for their happiness. Lance's father got cancer and died within a year. Lance was young and so he did not have that many memories of his father, but he sure remembered what it was like to watch someone lose their soulmate. His mother was devastated and for a time their family worried that she would die of heartbreak. Mom and dad had been _very_ close, and his mom always said that losing Lance's dad was like losing half of herself.

And that pain never left her.

Despite her heartache, she pulled through for her children. She refused to be so selfish as to leave them behind no matter how hard staying was. She devoted herself to her children and family. Lance still felt a warmth in his chest thinking about how strong his mother was. There would always be those bad days where she could not get out of bed for grief, and yet she never regretted staying for her children just as she never regretted marrying his father.

She said the pain was worth the memory.

Once one of Lance's older siblings asked their mom that if she could redue her life would she have change anything? Would she not have married their father to keep herself from ever experiencing that pain?

The answer was no. She would marry their father again in a heartbeat even knowing he would die in the end. She did have one regret, though. A regret which she told her children often. She should have married him sooner. They had both waited to wed- deciding to finish college and take things slow. They believed that they had a whole life time ahead of them to be together… except they did not.

Lance took his mother's words and life experience to heart and from a very young age he became determined not to make the mistake his parents had. Life was short enough as it was without things like cancer, car crashes, and spiders messing things up (spiders are evil, okay!). Lance planned that the moment he found his soulmate he would marry them as quickly as possible… no better yet- he would actively search for his soulmate, find them, marry them (on the same day he finds them if possible), and then live the rest of his life happily with her for however long they both have (which hopefully will be a long time- but you never know). It was a perfect plan.

So when puberty hit at thirteen and he got his soul mark, Lance was ready to begin the search… only his mark was not what he expected. The colour was a normal -personally he thought it was quite beautiful- blue and the words english, but what the words actually said was surprising.

When his mom saw it she had quirked her mouth in that way she does when she finds something amusing. His siblings had outright laughed at him. A few could not seem to stop.66

"Guess you're gonna have to flirt with every girl you meet, huh." One sibling had said jokingly.

They regretted ever suggesting such a thing because that is exactly what Lance did. And if his flirtatious mannerisms and over the top boldness embarrass his friends or family in the process- bonus points!

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Unlike Lance, Keith Kogane was not actively searching for his soulmate. This was not because Keith was an introvert and had lived the majority of his life in the middle of nowhere with little outside contact. Nor was it because right now he was grieving the recent (for him at least) death of his older brother friend who he was had been closer with than he ever had been with his father. The real reason Keith did not search for his soulmate was because he was convinced he did not have one.

Keith had no soul mark.

Growing up, Keith had never really thought about soul marks. For him a soul mark was just a harsh yellow scribbly tattoo that wound around his father's right wrist. It was the only soul mark he had ever seen at the age of six. For the longest time he had not even known what the mark was and just thought his dad had gotten a strange tattoo.

When his father finally told him about what soulmarks and soul mates were Keith wondered why his dad had never told him about them. Had his dad not love his soul mate? Was that why he never talked about them?

His father got upset when Keith asked that question. He said that he had loved his soulmate, but she was gone now and that was that. His father did not talk about it again and Keith decided not to ask anymore questions on the subject.

When Keith turned nine, his father reminded him that his mark would be appearing within the next few years. Keith started thinking about soul marks again. But he still did not talk to his father about them.

When he turned twelve he finally decided to ask his father what having a soulmate really meant. To Keith's surprise his father actually opened up about it and even went deep.

"They are the one person who will ever completely _get_ you. I did not believe what they said about soulmates, that one was made perfectly for the other. But when I met your mother, when I got to know her and she got to know me, I realised the it was true. It was as if everything I experienced in my life, everything that shaped me into who I have become, was so that I would be perfect for her… and everything she went through made her perfect for me."

Keiths father never used the word perfect.

The boy wondered what it was like to have someone who was perfect for you. Keith and his dad did not always get along and often times his father did not understand what Keith was feeling… but his father was still the closest person to _getting_ him. What would it be like to have someone who completely got him?

It was three month after Keith's thirteenth birthday that his father died and just like that Keith experienced what it really was like to be alone. No one understood him, no one got him. He was too quiet, too moody, too isolated. He was too different.

Three more year's passed and Keith began to realise that he was not going to get a soul mark. But by then Keith was hardened. Life was not perfect. It was tough with tough situations and tough choices. Being in the foster system showed Keith just how different he was from everyone else and it became abundantly clear to him that there would never be someone who understood him. There was no one who was perfect for him.

There was no such thing as perfect.

So when no mark showed by the time Keith turned seventeen, he had already figured that there was no soulmate for him. That was okay because Keith was more of a lone wolf than team player. He did not need anyone to rely on or make him feel complete and whole. He was fine.

He covered up his wrists. Always wore gauntlets.

He was not ashamed. Everyone already knew he was weird- different. What was one more thing that made him separate from the rest?

But it still hurt, and that's why he hid it. Apparently he was so different that there was no one who _could_ ever get him. Shiro came close. Keith considered him his only closest friend. But never did Keith feel as if Shiro completely got him- just like his dad.

And then Shiro was gone- again, just like his father. And that was when Keith came to the conclusion that the universe was set on keeping him alone. This was his fate.

He was not angry about this. Sometimes he was frustrated, though. Sometimes he burned in his chest and caused him to clench the knife belonging to the mother he never met until his nails cut into his palms and his hands shook with the strain of constant tension. Sometimes he trained in combat for hours without stop in blazing desert sun until he was a breathe away from collapsing in the burning sand. Sometimes he wondered aimlessly for days in the red and orange canyons and rock outcroppings- even into the deep and cold caverns which riddled the area.

But he was fine. He was not lonely. He was not sad. He was not angry.

He was okay.

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Hunk Garrett was not okay.

Well actually, he was okay. And his soul mark was doing good too. Kind of. He was not really sure. I mean, it was yellow. Was that okay? Could that actually happen? Could someone's eyes really be yellow? Well of course it could happen. How else could his soul mark be yellow if someone somewhere did not have yellow eyes… right?

Sometimes he thought his mark glowed. But that was just his imagination because eyes do not glow… right?

Oh man. Hunk was not okay.

Ever since getting his soul mark Hunk always wore something to cover his wrists. That was not unusual, of course. Some people liked keeping their mark hidden for one reason or another. So no one thought he was weird for keeping his mark a covered.

Do not get him wrong, the mark was a very pleasing colour. Sometimes when he got really nervous -like right now- he would take off his gauntlet to look at his mark. The soft warm colour and gentle glow calmed his nerves. Maybe that was weird. Was that weird?

Probably. I mean, his family thought the colour was a little strange. It was also probably weird that his mark was not in english… or any language he knew for that matter. Not that he could recognise that many languages in their written- or verbal- form. He was not linguist. He was a mechanic.

Of course, the option was out there that the writing on his arm was from some made up sibling language. You know, the language some twins make up that only they can understand. That seemed highly likely. Sort of. At least that is what his dad suggested. His dad had met twins once and they loved to annoy everyone by speaking in their special language. Although, neither Hunk nor his father had ever heard of twins making up _written_ words to go along with their language. But it could happen. Right?

No matter the answer to that question, Hunk still hid his mark from the world. His friend Lance loved flashing his mark with its deep clear blue colouring so that everyone could see it. Lance sometimes tried to get Hunk to show him his mark. But, despite being really good friends with Lance (they were like best friends… at least that is how he felt), Hunk never felt comfortable enough to show his mark. Thankfully Lance respected his wish despite being disappointed. Lance was a good loyal friend.

Still, this strange language thing with his mark meant he had no idea what it said. What if his soulmate was cursing him or saying something just as mean spirited? That was stupid thought. His soulmate would never be someone who could be mean to someone they just met… Unless that person did something really hurtful to them- which, he would not do. Would he? What if he accidentally did something wrong that caused the first words his soulmate said to him to be curses or derogatory name calling? It could happen. Unlikely, but it could happen.

Or it could not. In fact, nothing could happen. This whole thing might be a huge mess up where his soul mark was actually a typo and his soulmate did not have glowing yellow eyes or spoke in a different language that probably did not exist.

Okay, Hunk knew he needed to stop thinking about this. He was liable to stress himself out over what probably was nothing if he continued to think too heavily on this subject. Plus he really should be focusing on his university work at the Garrison.

He had a mark. It was yellow. His soulmate's eyes would be gentle and calming (judging by the colour). That was all he should let himself think about.

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There was a lot Katie Holt let herself think about. There was a lot she needed to know. So busy was she with other more important things that she rarely thought about her soul mark… which she did not have yet.

But that was completely normal. She had only just turned fourteen and had two years left for the mark to make itself known. For males soul marks showed up between the ages of nine and sixteen, though the age which marks most commonly appeared was twelve to fourteen. Females got their marks earlier than males, usually gaining them from ten to twelve with the earliest being eight and latest fifteen. Whether a mark comes early, late, or in the middle also depends on hereditary genes. Usually if the parents marks appeared early on then so would their children's' marks.

Now if one parent had gotten their soul mark late and the other had gained their mark early then it all depended on who had the more dominant gene. If, on the other hand, both parents had their marks early but they had a child with a late mark then it was probably because that child had gotten their soul mark gene passed down to them from a grandparent or even great-grandparent who had received their mark late as well. Genes sometimes tended to skip a few generations.

With this knowledge Katie knew she had nothing to worry about… except that _everyone_ in her family had their soul marks form early. Her brother, her parents, her parents parents, her parents parents parents, her parents parents parents parents, her parents parent parents parents parents, her-

When she said everyone, she meant it. Everyone had gotten their marks early on, even her distant cousins were not late bloomers.

Actually, if Katie thought about it there was one person in her family heritage that did not get their soul mark early. Her great aunt from her father's side never actually _got_ a soul mark. Not getting a soul mark is not exactly unheard of and either means that a person's soulmate died before ever getting to say a single word to them, or that person did not actually have a soul mark.

Well her great aunt did end up having a soul mate and he certainly said a lot to her before he died of old age. Great Uncle Gib's was known to have been quite the chatterbox. Everyone could not deny that Gibs had been her great aunt's soulmate because while she might have been lacking a soul mark, Gibs had not. Her first words to him were scrolled around his wrist from when he was ten.

But that had been a one time fluke. There was no way that _that_ mistake could be _genetic_.

Still, Katie's mark had yet to show despite her genes coming from a long line of early markers. Both her parents had gotten there's at nine. Her brother had gotten his right after his ninth birthday- although his had been a bit different from the norm what with being an alien language.

When Katie turned eight she fully expected her mark to appear right after her birthday as well. But it did not appear that year. Nor did it appear the year after that, or the year after that, or all of the years leading up to the present. It still had not appeared despite her only having two years left for it to show up. Marks rarely showed up so late for females… marks never showed up that late for anyone in her family.

Katie told herself that she really should not worry. A lot of things about her seemed to be a late bloomer (which turned out to be a blessing in disguise with what she's now planning to do in order to infiltrate the Garrison) so she really shouldn't be so concerned about her soul mark, or lack thereof.

Still, it bugs her now and again. Definitely not now, though. Now she is too busy. Now something like a missing soul mark seemed trivial compared to what was happening to her family.

The Kerberos mission failed. They said it was pilot error. They said that the ship never reached its destination. They said her father and brother were dead.

But they were lying. Katie had hacked into their database and even snuck into the Garrison headquarters. She saw the files. She read the reports and saw the last transmissions. There was _no_ pilot error. The spaceship _had_ landed successfully on the Kerberos moon.

If Galaxy Garrison had lied about those crucial details then there was a high percentage that they were lying about her brother and father's deaths. They were not dead. They were just missing.

And she would find them.

But before she could read the last transmission of the ship or discover any more information about what happened to her father and brother, the quiznaking Commander Iverson stopped her. The commander promised that she would never be allowed back on Garrison territory.

She could kiss her dreams of becoming a space pilot goodbye.

Of course she tried twice more to get into Garrison to access the private files of Iverson which could not be accessed through the database, but she was thrown out both times. She would have tried again if they had not threatened her mother.

Katie had not cared when they tried to scare her with promises to send her to juvie if she continued. But the threat to sabotage her mother's carrier was too much. Iverson had the type of connections that would make it easy for him to just pull a few strings and cause her mother's life to become even more of a nightmare than it already was.

Now it looked like Katie would have to give up on finding the truth… but if you really believed that then you do not know Katie.

Besides she would find a way. She would _always_ find a way because she would _never_ stop looking.

Where Katie Holt failed- Pidge Gunderson would succeed. She was going to get her family back- no matter what.

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Happy Valentines Day! Hope you enjoyed!


	2. Keith

**Summery: Keith figures his soulmark (or lack there of) out first... sort of.**

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"I… I do not understand. What do you mean?"

Allura stares at him with wide searching eyes. Her expression was shocked and confused, much like everyone else's.

Keith takes a shaky breath, his heartbeat echoing loudly in his ears. He is nervous and… and… afraid.

But- he shouldn't be. He shouldn't be afraid. He has nothing to fear. Yeah he's half Galra, but he knows who he is. Being Galra that doesn't change that. And he's not ashamed to be Galra. The Blade of Marmora, Thace and Ulaz, they already changed how he views the Galra. Zarkon, his generals, and his soldiers are the enemies. Not the entire Galra race.

Now, however, as he looks at his friends- his fellow Paladins- shocked, confused, and even betrayed expressions Keith doesn't feel so sure of himself anymore.

Then the thought enters his mind- Do they still see Galra as the enemy? Do they now see him as the enemy?

He hadn't even considered that. He, he just assumed everyone saw things the way he did.

And suddenly his fear makes sense. They're going to reject him.

Keith feels his knees threatening to give out from under him even as instinct demands he turn around and run.

A body shifts behind him and Keith feels Shiro step closer to him. A hand gently but firmly settles on his shoulder. He turns his head just enough to see Shiro out of the corner of his eye give him a nod and small smile in support.

His eye catches on Shiro's robotic arm resting almost innocently at his side. Keith cannot help but think about all the pain and suffering Zarkon made Shiro go through. Galra took everything from him. His freedom, his arm, his soul mark. They made him a slave, they made him a murderer for their own amusement. They made him kill fight, suffer, and kill for their own little games.

They made him into a possession.

If anyone should feel betrayed at Keith's reveal it is Shiro.

But Shiro is standing supportively behind him. He was even there when the truth was revealed and the only emotions he showed were shock… and then acceptance. During the ride back Shiro had even said he was proud of Keith.

Keith still feels a warmness inside of him from Shiro's words.

A fierce and burning pride mixes with the warmth as his lion growls possessively. Red has her own unique way of showing support.

Keith steadies himself and his resolve returns knowing that Shiro and Red stand by him.

He looks each of his friends in the eyes and says again, "I'm half Galra."

Allura shakes her head, eyes turning toward Shiro. There is a desperation glinting there as she looks to Shiro as if he could sooth away all of her worries and fix all of her woes. "Sh-shiro. What does he mean? He cannot- this cannot be. Tell me it is not so."

Shiro takes a step toward her and reaches out, his voice gentle and kind. "Keith speaks the truth, princess."

Allura gasps and takes a fearful step back, then her eyes flick toward Keith and he feels startled to see so much anger in those blue eyes. Something hardens in her face and she glares at Keith before sharply turning her back to Keith and walking purposely toward the exit.

"We have wasted enough time." She says, her tone cold and unfeeling. "I believe, Shiro, that you had wanted to discuss an alliance with the Blade of Marmora. I suggest we do not keep them waiting any longer."

With a whoosh of the doors she is gone. The room is silent. No one moves. Red growls angrily through their bond. In his mind he sees her prowling and snapping her jaws in furry. She does not like anyone doubting her little Paladin.

"Well…" Coran tugs nervously at his mustache. "We had better follow the princess. She is right about keeping them waiting. Shall we Paladins."

Shiro speaks up. "I doubt all of us Paladins are needed for the negotiation. The Blade of Marmora already agreed to join us. I believe you, the princess, and I are enough for now to meet with them and discuss our plans. The others need need to have their own meeting. They can join us when they've sorted everything."

Coran's face brightens in understanding and he gives a decisive nod. "Ah yes, of course. Good call. "

Coran leaves and Shiro follows, though before he goes he turns to Keith and smiles. "You did well Keith. I'll talk to the princess. She just… I'll bring her around."

Keith nods and then Shiro is gone. The room falls into silence again. Keith cannot take his eyes off of the door Shiro just left through. Somehow half of his confidence went with his brother.

Red snaps at him, scolding him for thinking that way. They faced down Zarkon himself, for crows sake! Just the two of them! She thinks he can handle this.

She's right.

Keith turns to the other Paladins, his jaw set in determination as he prepares to face whatever questions (or accusations) they throw at him.

"Soooo…" Lance easily breaks the silence. "Your Galra. When did that happen?"

"Um… since- always?" Keith is bit stunned. Is Lance being serious right now? Or is he joking? This is Lance we're talking about. He is always joking which just frustrates Keith. This is no laughing matter and he better not make light of this situation!

"Yeah but like how?" Lance looks seriously perplexed.

"Uh… Lance." Hunk looks at his friend worriedly. "Did… did your mom or brothers never give you the birds and the bees talk?"

Lance is speechless for a moment (so is Keith. He can feel his cheeks heating up), but then he sputters and waves his hands wildly as he screeches in a rather high pitched tone, "O-of course they did! But that's- that's not what I meant!"

"Oh good." Hunk sighs in relief. "I would have hated to have to give you that talk. That would have been so weird."

"No, no, no" Pidge cuts in. "You wouldn't have had to be the one. That responsibility would have fallen to Shiro since he's our space dad."

"Space dad?" Keith asks, but Hunk is already talking so he doesn't think anyone heard him.

"Huh, yeah your right. Although now that I think about it I bet Shiro would do a good job. My dad was terrible at explaining it and I ended up just getting more confused the more he tried to clear up a misunderstanding. Those were definitely the worst three hours of my life."

"Ha, you think that was bad? At least it was your dad and not your mom. She lectured me for four hours while my older siblings sniggered behind the door. They'll tell you they never listened in but I know I heard Juan's laughter even if it was muffled. If I could I think I would have picked, I definitely would have picked Shiro over my mom."

Keith feels his cheeks heating the more they talk and at this point he's pretty sure his whole face is red. He shakes his head wildly and squeaks out (did his voice really just crack?). "T-trust me. You do not want Shiro to- to…. It was just bad."

"Wait," Pidge's raised her brow at Keith. "Shiro was the one who gave you the talk? What about your parents?"

Keith shrugged. "Dad died when I was 13, plus there wasn't a need to- to have that- you know. We kind of stayed to ourselves. Mom was… not around. I never met her."

Honestly most of this conversation is making him feel uncomfortable. But at the same time he's glad that- well, that they seem to be taking the newly discovered other half of his heritage so well.

Or maybe they forgot.

Keith coughs, "Look guys. Are you okay with… with me being part Galra?"

The other three all give each other a look, then their gaze turns toward him.

"Yeah, man. We're good." Lance grins. "I mean, it's not like it changes anything, right guys?"

Pidge grins back (it looks kind of vicious, but then again that's Pidge for you) while Hunk beams one of his special warm smiles.

"Of course," Hunk nod's, "Although I definitely have a lot of questions. Like, what does it feel like now that your Galra?"

Keith blinks, "Um… the same."

It looks like Pidge is about to say something about that (she seems as confused about the question as Keith feels. Does Hunk not understand that he didn't just turn Galra?) when a transmission from Shiro echoes out form the castle speakers. "Paladins? Sorry if this isn't enough time but we need you to all come up to the bridge. We are going to start discussing our strategy for taking down Zarkon."

All of the Paladins answer at once.

"Kay."

"We're coming."

"Alright, but I still have questions."

"On our way Shiro."

Keith finds himself walking behind the others in the hallway as they chatter away. Red seems to think he's in shock, but Keith disagrees. Yeah he feels a bit overwhelmed with how his friends handled the whole situation- but that's nothing to be shocked over. He's just… surprised.

And kind of grateful.

Now that he doesn't have to worry about rejection from the Paladins (Allura's cold face burns in the back of his mind) he can focus on the bigger issue. Like what exactly does this mean that he's part Galra? He knows he has slight regenerative powers (apparently his skin turns purple when he's healing himself) and maybe being Galra is why he's always been so lithe and agile. It might also explain why he's always struggled to fit in.

Because he was never like anyone else. He was not fully human like them.

The thought scares him and comforts him at the same time. It might mean he'll never fully fit in with humans, but now he knows why.

"Keith… you okay?" A gentle voice asks and Keith is startled out of his concentration to find Pidge walking beside him, looking up at him with calculating yet strangely soft hazel eyes.

"Yeah." He answers. It's not a lie because even if he's still struggling inside he's definitely doing better than he was at the Blade of Marmora base.

Pidge doesn't seem to believe him, though she doesn't push it.

They walk in comfortable silence, Hunk and Lance still talking loudly a head of them. Keith really does appreciate his team. From his experience in Foster Care he knows he's lucky to be bonded with people who are so accepting.

Red hums in agreement. She likes the paladins her sisters chose. She assures him quickly that he's still her favourite so no need to be jealous.

Keith is in the middle of insisting that he was not jealous (he didn't even have time to process what she'd been saying to feel that way… not that he would) when he hears her chuckling and senses a hint of a teasing tone in her thoughts.

Sometimes it surprises him with how playful Red can be. She's always got this passion and aggression burning at her core which makes her a bit scary sometimes…. In a good way, he assures her. He'd once seen a mountain lion protecting her cubs from another lion. It had been scary as hell and Keith remembers being so thankful he was upwind so the beast wouldn't catch his sent.

Red seems amused at Keith's memory. She's also pleased at the comparison and basically declares that everyone should be afraid of her.

"You keep rubbing your wrist."

Keith is pulled back to reality and snaps his head over to Pidge who is still walking beside him. "What?"

Pidge blinks then blushes. "Sorry, didn't mean to say that out loud."

Keith nods and is ready to let the silence rest back over them, but then he realises Pidge is right. He is rubbing at his wrist, left hand gripping the armour there and twisting back and forth.

Why is he doing that?

Red seems to know. She's gone silent, one might say she's even backed away. But why? And what is up with his wrist? He has a feeling he already knows- but for some reason he cannot make the connection.

He stops in the hallway, staring down at his wrist in puzzlement. It feels normal… no, not normal. There is a distinct lack of something there.

…

Oh.

Pidge has apparently stopped with him and is staring with her piercing gaze at his expression. He feels like she's reading him the way she reads her computer screen- digging out every bit of information it has to offer with ease.

"Your right handed, yeah?" She asks. He notices her hand twitching up to grab her own right wrist. She seems to catch herself because the hand freezes, then falls back to her side. "That's where your soul mark is."

Keith's breath catches in his throat and he freezes for a moment. He's been caught. She'll ask him to show her his mark. When she sees nothing she'll know. That he isn't good enough to have a soulmate. He isn't worth it.

Red roars within him and he feels her rage burning him within. She is angry at him that he would think so lowly of himself. He is her paladin and she does not choose lightly. He is Keith, human and Galra.

Galra do not have soulmates or soulmarks.

Keith's eyes widen in realisation. Then there is relief.

Pidge is still looking at him intently, her gaze burning as she waits for him to speak. Hunk and Lance have disappeared. It's just them.

"No." He says finally. He releases his wrist and looks up from it into Pidge's large almost innocent looking eyes. "I don't have a mark. Apparently that's just a human thing."

Pidges eyes widen for a moment and she says in a hushed voice, "Oh."

"For so long-" Keith stops. He doesn't need to say anything, to tell her anything. But there is a burden inside of him which he can finally release. Red urges him to do it. "For so long I thought there was something wrong with me, that I didn't have a soulmate. Now I know…. And I'm relieved."

There is something like understanding in her eyes as Pidge smiles at him. "There's nothing wrong with you Keith."

Then she is walking away. Keith follows behind, a deep sense of peace he's never known resting over him. He smiles to himself.

But something still nags at him. A stray thought. He is reminded of it when he sees the slight tension in Pidges shoulders as she walks ahead of him. Her hand tries to reach for her right wrist again, only for it to stop midway and then return to her side.

Those last words she had spoken to him…. why had she sounded so sad?"Your right handed, yeah?" She asks. He notices her hand twitching up to grab her own right wrist. She seems to catch herself because the hand freezes, then falls back to her side. "That's where your soul mark is."

Keith's breath catches in his throat and he freezes for a moment. He's been caught. She'll ask him to show her his mark. When she sees nothing she'll know. That he isn't good enough to have a soulmate. He isn't worth it.

Red roars within him and he feels her rage burning him within. She is angry at him that he would think so lowly of himself. He is her paladin and she does not choose lightly. He is Keith, human and Galra.

Galra do not have soulmates or soulmarks.

Keith's eyes widen in realisation. Then there is relief.

Pidge is still looking at him intently, her gaze burning as she waits for him to speak. Hunk and Lance have disappeared. It's just them.

"No." He says finally. He releases his wrist and looks up from it into Pidge's large almost innocent looking eyes. "I don't have a mark. Apparently that's just a human thing."

Pidges eyes widen for a moment and she says in a hushed voice, "Oh."

"For so long," Keith finds himself saying. He doesn't need to say anything, to tell her anything. But there is a burden inside of him which he can finally release. Red urges him to do it. "I thought there was something wrong with me, that I didn't have a soulmate. Now I know…. And I'm relieved."

There is something like understanding in her eyes as Pidge smiles at him. "There's nothing wrong with you Keith."

Then she is walking away. Keith follows behind, a deep sense of peace he's never known resting over him. He smiles to himself.

But something still nags at him. A stray thought. He is reminded of it when he sees the slight tension in Pidges shoulders as she walks ahead of him. Her hand tries to reach for her right wrist again, only for it to stop midway and then return to her side.

Those last words she had spoken to him…. why had she sounded so sad?


	3. Hunk

**Summery: Hunk is technically the first paladin to figures out the meaning to his** **soul mark first.**

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"Hunk… Are you seriously making calzones?"

Hunk looked up mid cheese sprinkling (it was not actually cheese, but he thought the texture and overall flavour was pretty close to mozzarella) to see Lance scrutinizing his handy work with a raised brow.

"Uuuh… yes?" Hunk smiled nervously. Was he not supposed to? I mean, he knew they would be leaving tomorrow on their mission to defeat Zarkon, and he probably should be getting rest instead of cooking. Or maybe he should be training. That's what most people do when getting ready to fight a big powerful overlord, right? But he can't because he's too nervous. After all, they are leaving tomorrow on their mission to DEFEAT ZARKON! _The_ big powerful overlord. The baddest bad guy in the universe. The literal destroyer of worlds whose been in control for- like- ten thousand years. Oh, and by the way, last time they faced him they nearly died! All of them. Like, more than once!

(Keith probably holds the record for number-of-times-almost-died during that mission. Admittedly, Hunk would not be surprised if he held that record for nearly every mission they've ever been on.)

So yeah, Hunk is cooking. It's the only thing he can think to do right now to keep him from hyperventilating.

Strength washes over him and Hunk is immediately comforted as he feels his Lion press into his subconscious- purring deeply as she tries to reassure him that she will protect him and in turn they will protect the others. Hunk smiles as her presence fills him with confidence and warmth and he sends her his thanks from the bottom of his heart. It's really great knowing a gigantic power house will always be there for you. Plus, there is just something about Yellow that is so pleasant and warm and feels just so emright/em. She is literally the best and Hunk would never want to be anyone else's paladin.

"I did say I was hungry." Hunk, no longer so unsure of himself, adds. "Plus I've been wanting to try this konzoki- or whatever the Olkari called it- in one of my dishes. I've already tested to see how it reacts to heat. Besides turning a little green it still tasted fine."

Lance considered this a moment, then his eyes brighten and he grins. "Sounds tasty. Wanna make me one pal?"

Hunk's face brightened and he nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"

Excited, Hunk finishes crimping the edges of his calzone together and glazing the dough with butter (it's not butter). He pops it in the oven and turns to whip up some more dough and white sauce for Pidges meal.

Weeell, that's what he would have done if the oven hadn't exploded in his face the moment he opened it.

Hunk gives a squeak and just manages not to drop his masterpiece (he worked so hard on it!) as he leaps away from the malfunctioning oven that is now spewing fire like an angry dragon. Lance gives his own impressively high pitched cry of surprise before rushing over with the altean version of a fire extinguisher. Trusting Lance to handle the unruly oven (probably not a smart decision on his part), Hunk retreats further to place his calzone on a counter that is safely far away and out of reach of whatever blue chemicals are spewing out of the fire extinguisher. It's only after he's got his food to safety that he actually notices that his hands are on fire.

It's not his hand exactly, more like the oven mitt and his gauntlets that are going up in flame. But still….

He's on FIRE!

Hunk gives another cry of alarm and rushes (trips) over to the sink while trying to pull the burning material off of him.

A minute later and Hunk is sighing with relief as his now sopping mitt and gauntlet smoke in the sink while Lance finishes off the fire and gives his own sound of relief before slumping against the countertop next to him. Hunk's pretty sure he can hear Yellow laughing in his subconscious. He sends her his disgruntled feeling and tries to impress upon her that no, this really isn't funny. He almost lost his calzone!

Yellow only laughs harder.

"Oh dear. What has happened here?"

Hunk looked up to see the princess, Coran, and Pidge walking into the kitchen. All are looking at the billowing smoke and scorched floor.

Pidge assesses the damage immediately and snaps her eyes over to Lance to give him one of her death glares. "Seriously Lance? What did you do this time?"

"Me?" Lance squeaks. "I didn't do anything! I bet it's Keith's fault. He's got the lion of fire anyway! He must have made the oven explode on us!"

Pidge scoffs. "Last I checked none of us can actually control the elements our lions represent."

"But he's part Galra! I bet he can control fire."

"Galra aren't fire benders, idiot!"

"Actually." Hunk stepped in between them before Lance can tempt Pidge into using the frying pan that has suddenly appeared in her hand and which she is brandishing rather menacingly. "I was the only one to touch the oven so I guess that means it's my fault. Sorry Coran. I'll try and fix it."

"Don't worry number 2," Coran, who was sticking his head into the black maw of the still smoking oven. "It's not your fault. The holocoretex misaligned with the riztack which has fried the crystals. Afraid this poor girl is dead as a boffnet in a hoard of disquims. We are going to have to replace it."

"That's not the only thing needing replacing." Lance says, pointing to the sorry sight in the sink. "Dude, did you actually catch on fire?"

"Yeah," Hunk sighs, shoulders slumping. "I'm going to have to get a new pair of gauntlets and an oven mitt."

"Hunk?" A slightly worried voice calls out, and everyone looks up to see the Allura pointing at Hunk's right wrist. Hunk is hit with a sinking feeling as he looks down to see that his strange glowing yellow soul mark is there for everyone to see. He gulps. Yellow tries to reassure him that the others will not think it weird. Not very reassuring since even _he_ thinks it's weird.

"I did not know you had a tattoo like Lance." Allura says and Hunk is momentarily confused until he spots the ever visible blue soul mark twisting around Lance's wrist. Ooooh. Now he gets it. Allura must not know what a soul mark is.

So wait, if she doesn't know, then do Alteans not have soulmates?

Before Hunk goes any further in his thinking Allura's next words halt him dead in his tracks.

"Why is it in balmarian?"

Wait… what?

Hunk looks down at his mark, eyes wide as Lance and Pidge gasp.

"Y-you- this- I- B-balmarian?" Hunk stammers. Yellow hums in the back of his mind and he gets the feeling she's amused and self satisfied by this new revelation. Wait… did she know the whole time?

"No way. NO WAY!" Lance laughs, grin far too wide to fit on his face and eyes practically sparkling with amusement. "It's Shay! Isn't it! It's gotta be her!"

Hunk clears his suddenly extremely dry throat and tries to ask, "C-can you… can you- uh- read it?"

Allura steps forward as Hunk holds his shaking hand up for her to examine. After a moment she frowns and shakes her head. "I am sorry. I was just starting to learn Balmarian before the war broke out. I am afraid I only recognise two of these words. This one here is brother while this mark shows that the sentence is formed as a question. That is it I am afraid."

Hunk feels his hope die and his gut sink at her words. Before he can become too disappointed though Pidge marches over to Coran, grabs him by the arm, and bodily drags him away from the oven which he was still inspecting. Glasses glinting she thrusts a finger toward Hunks wrist and demands. "Can you read that?"

"What? Oh, Hunk! I did not know you had a tattoo like Lance. And in Balmarian too! I haven't seen their language in literary form for years." Coran beams, grabbing Hunks hand and holding it closer to his face. "Let's see, my skills might be a bit rusty. It has been a few thousands years since I even saw an example of the balmarians literary language."

"Come on Coran!" Lance says as he and Pidge both crowd Hunk in their excitement. "Just tell us what it says?!"

Coran's brow wrinkles and a deep frown forms under his mustache.

"That can't be good." Pidge says. All of a sudden Hunk is feeling quite sick. He might throw up.

Yellow purrs, impressing upon him that he has nothing to worry about. In fact, she is quite sure he would be pleased by the revelation.

Now Hunk is more nervous than ever.

"I do not understand." Allura, trying to peer past everyone's shoulders to see the object of everyone's attention, says. "What is so important about Hunks tattoo?"

"For starters, it's not a tattoo." Pidge says, readjusting the perch of her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "It's his soul mark."

"A soul mark?" Allura asks, tilting her head to the side. "What does this mark have to do with the soul?"

"It's a mark that helps us find our soulmates." Lance answers.

"What is… a soulmate?" Allura, still sounding completely confused, asks.

"You know, they're your soulmate. Don't you guys have soulmates?"

Pidge takes a step back and gives the two alteans a studied look. "I don't think they do, Lance. I've been considering for a while now that having soulmates and soul marks might just be a human thing. I mean, Keith… nevermind."

"Wait, what about Kei-" Lance begins to ask but Allura interrupts him. She seems frustrated at being left out of the loop. Not that Hunk blames her.

"Please," Allura says imploringly. "What are soulmates? It seems all so very important to you humans."

"That's 'cause it is," Lance says. "Soulmates are the fated person you're supposed to be with! They're, like, the other half of your soul!"

Allura eyes widen. "Really? I have never heard of such a thing. It sounds fascinating. Do all humans have soul marks?"

Lance cires, "Yup!" while Hunk gives a more tentative, "Mostly, yeah."

He notices Pidge says nothing.

"Does… Shiro have a mark?" Allura asks, her curious voice has a tint of hope.

Oh-ho-ho! Is she blushing?

"Of course!" Lance grins (he gives Hunk a look that says he noticed the blushing too). "All marks appear on our dominant hand. I bet he'd show you his mark if he asked. He hasn't shown us his mark to anyone. Probably for the same reason you didn't, Hunk."

"Oh, you mean you think his mark is alien." Hunk nods.

Coran, looking up from his study of Hunks mark, asks "Why would that make a difference?"

Hunk scratches the back of his neck nervously. "Well, you see I always thought my mark was wrong or something because I couldn't recognise the language- plus the colour was off and… well, human eyes don't glow. So I hid my mark. If Shiro hasn't shown his mark to any of us yet it's probably because it's alien too, like mine."

"Oh." Both Alteans eyes widen in understanding.

"Guys..." Pidge speaks up, there is something off about her voice. If Hunk wasn't so overwhelmed by the prospect of finally finding out what his soul mark says he would probably pick up on what is bothering her. "I don't think asking Shiro about his mark is a good idea."

"Why?" Lance and Allura ask at the same time.

"Because he's left handed."

Hunks eyes widen in realisation. Oh.

"Yeah, so what?" Lance asks. Allura doesn't seem to get it yet either.

"Um," Hunk's voice warbles, but he doesn't care. He can't stop thinking about how awful this must be for Shiro. "Thats- thats the arm the druids amputated."

There is sickening silence as realisation dawns on Lance and the Alteans. Hunk decides he might need to talk to Shiro after this whole Zarkon thing is over- just to make sure their strong and fearless leader is… okay.

"There is still something which I am still curious about." Allura finally breaks the silence. "How does this mark show you your 'soulmate'? How can a mark say anything and what does humans not having glowing eyes have to do with it?"

"W-well." Hunk clears his throat. "The colour represents your soul mates eyes. The characters of the mark are the first words your soulmate says to you."

Allura stares at him for a moment, then down at his wrist, then to Coran who is still glaring at the mark, then back up to stare at Hunk some more. He can see the moment something clicks within her blue and pink eyes and she gasps before turning on Coran, grabbing his arm, and shaking him wildly.

"Quickly Coran! What does the mark say! You must tell us this instant!"

"Yes, princess!... But I haven't figured it all out yet. There are two words which are escaping me. I have never seen this one before," he taps the first character of the mark which starts the strand "And this one here" he's tapping another character. "Is also a mystery. I assume they may be names but I cannot be sure what those names are."

"Well, why not just make one up! It doesn't matter as long as we know what the rest of the sentence says."

Hunk gets worried at that because what if it does matter? It's probably a really generic sentence like 'hi, how are you' and the names are the only defining part about it? Then he'd never be able to find his soul mate.

His lion, Yellow, reminds him that he is actually closer to finding his soulmate than he ever was before. Also, if its even viable to have an alien soulmate (which seems like a real possibility right now) then his soul mark isn't as freakishly weird as he always thought it was. He must admit, that in itself is a huge relief.

Coran takes Lance's suggestion and clears his throat before taking a huge breath. Everyone subconsciously leans forward, waiting.

"Moxif Vango the Third. And this one, my brother Fomble-Damble-Dop. How did you fall to us?"

There is a moment of silence in which one could hear a pin drop. Then everyone (but Hunk, he's still in shock) blinks at the same time.

"Well that's weird." Lance frowns and rubs his chin. "Hey, but at least you now know what your mark says. Right buddy?"

But Hunk doesn't hear him. He can't. All he hears is Shay's sweet voice as she stares at him with concerned (and just a bit of wonder) soft yellow eyes.

"Shay. And this one, my brother Rax. How did you fall to us?"


	4. Shiro

**Summery: Shiro figured out his mark… it just turned out to be too late.**

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The door swished open and Allura steps through into a room left untouched for far too long. The lights flick on, banishing the darkness which once shrouded it. But it did nothing to doing nothing to expel the lifeless stillness haunting the room or utter loneliness eating her up inside.

Allura hugs her arms around her, fingers gripping into the smooth fabric of her long sleeves.

The feel of the familiar fabric does not sooth her. Neither can her own body heat banish the coldness in her bones.

Taking a deep breath, Allura takes a step further into the room, before hesitating. It feels wrong invading upon personal space without asking permission. But there is nothing she can do about that. The entire reason she feels the need to cross into this room is because the one who once resided in here is gone.

Oh ancients Shiro is really gone. Standing in his room, seeing how lifeless it is just hammers the reminder that he is really missing. Words repeat in her mind like the reverberations of the traditional departed tolling, sounding outs its cries of mourning. Gone, gone, gone, gone.

Before it had not seemed so hopeless. Before Allura had felt in her heart that Shiro would return to them (to her). But now that the Black Lion had chosen Keith as his next Paladin, Allura wasn't so sure. The doubt filled her soul and plagued her mind. What if Shiro was gone just like all of her people, her friends, her father.

Allura sat upon Shiro's bed, covers perfectly smooth and tucked neatly in, as pristine and militarily kept as the rest of the room. Somehow the order only made her feel worse. In all honesty it looked like an empty spare room. Perfectly neet and bereft of anything personal.

Allura hates it. She had come here in the hopes it would make her feel closer to Shiro, to keep her dwindling spark of hope alive that he wasn't gone for good.

But this empty room seemed only to snuff that flame out faster.

She… she liked him, didn't she. Yes, she did. Shiro who had been so supportive and kind, who she found herself relying desperately on in their first meeting. There were times where Shiro reminded her of her father. His strength, his honour, his warm smile and kind eyes which he graced his paladins and even her and Coran with. How sometimes he looked so proud, so fond of all of them. There were even times where she thought he gave her a look, one special all to her own. But she could never be certain if they were real or of her own make believe.

She liked Shiro. She liked how he respected her, how he listened and deferred to her opinion. She liked how he made her feel safe and protected with his strong presence and that determined and dangerous glint he would get in his eyes whenever any of them were in harm's way. She liked the gentle and soft way he sometimes spoke to her, only to her and only in her moments of greatest weakness.

That first night after waking up to discover her entire people, all her friends, and her beloved family were gone had been truly one of the worst nights of her life. She had held herself together as best she could, forcing herself to focus on retrieving the Lions to start her quest of defeating the murderer who ordered genocide upon her species.

No matter what, she told herself she could not cry. Allura had been too afraid to weep, thinking that if she allowed herself to grieve she would be unable to stop. The hole in her soul was too large, too deep. If she allowed herself to feel sadness it would consume her whole.

She could not afford to break down, not now. Not when the murderer of her species and destroyer of all she held dear was still alive and poisoning the rest of the universe with pain and suffering.

So Allura had stayed up when all others had gone to sleep that first night. She kept herself busy checking the many different systems on her father's ship. If she kept working, kept herself busy, then she would not have time to even consider the aching pain inside of her chest.

But Shiro had found her and spoke to her. They both barely knew each other, only a day upon meeting. And yet somehow with his soft voice and kind eyes he broke down the fortress she had been building around her heart, pushed it aside as if it were mere mist. She cried that night, wept for her father and mother. Her childhood friends and loyal companions. For her people and for things that could never be again. Her body shook and her cords gave voice to the anguish inside of her. The whole while Shiro held her, held her and soothed her but never once tried to quiet or halt her tears. He held her when her own strength left her and she could no longer hold herself. He held her until her tears were spent and her voice hoarse. He held her until her eyes closed and she fell into slumber from exhaustion.

Crying had hurt. The grieving had been painful. But upon waking in the morning Allura felt stronger. She still hurt, the emptiness inside of her still ached and gnawed away at her. But the pain was lesser than it had been before.

That was not the last time Shiro had been there for her, had held her as she cried, had spoken in his gentle soft voice words that always, always broke away her walls and touched the core of her soul. He always seemed to know when her heart would ache the most and would find her silently wandering the halls with tears streaming down her cheeks after another terrible nightmare (terrible because of how closely it shadowed her most vicious memories).

First she began expecting him to find her during those bad nights. Then she began seeking him out. It was on one such occasion that she ended up awakening him from his own nightmares. It was then that Allura realised why his words always rung true. Why his embrace always comforted her.

Because he understood. Because he suffered too.

They talked that night, both revealing to each other their greatest pains. After that night there was an unspoken promise between each other that whenever one of them suffered they were to seek the other out.

Like now. She had awoken earlier from a nightmare. It was much like her others. The sky was burning, the castle shaking, Zarkons voice declaring their coming doom and demanding they give themselves over. Many of her people were already lost. Many of her friends gone. But this time when she looked to her side it was not her father who stood, giving commands to their fleet. It was Shiro, directing the other Paladins to fight. But he wasn't on the Castleship. He was in his Lion. And Zarkon was coming for him. Zarkon was going to kill him. He was going to die. She tried to call out his name. To warn Shiro what was going to happen. To not go near Zarkon. To run please run. But her voice did not work and she could not move. Zarkon was coming. Zarkon was here. He stood dark and horrible in front of Shiro. The Lion was gone. The other paladins were gone. It was just Shiro standing alone with her worst nightmare standing over him ready to strike.

The blow never came, Allura had woken up before it could fall. But it did not need to because before her eyes had snapped open Shiro had just- vanished. Nothing was left behind but Zarkon, hand still raised to attack. But now instead of coming down upon Shiro it had been going to come down upon her.

Allura had fought desperately to calm her rapidly beating heart after waking from that nightmare. Her body shook and she gulped desperately for air which chilled her burning skin and iced the inside of her lungs with each breath.

The princesses first response had been to go Shiro for comfort, hoping that like always he could soothe away her fears.

But then horrible reality came crashing down upon her mind, reminding her that her dream was much more real than she first thought.

He was gone.

Gone just like every other person she had ever loved.

And now standing in this empty room, seeing the lack of evidence of his existence, the horrible grief which had plagued her that first night returned. One moment her people were alive and fighting against their enemies. The next she opened her eyes and they were all gone as if they had never been there. One moment her friends had been supporting her, battling along with everyone else to protect each other. The next they were gone, without even a memory of their existence outside of her own. One moment her father had been standing beside her, giving her strength to continue protecting all she held dear. The next he was dead, his warmth she would never feel again.

And now Shiro was gone just like them. One moment he was alive and fighting their enemy. The next he was gone like a ghost, leaving behind no evidence of his being there. One moment he had been there to support her, battling alongside her to protect this new family they both had found. The next he was gone, only six people in the entire universe aware of his passing. One moment Shiro had been there for her, giving her strength and comfort so that she could continue to fight this battle knowing she was not alone. The next he was dea-

Biting her lip Allura shook her head vigorously, teardrops flung into the air and catching in her wild, uncombed hair.

No. He was not dead. He couldn't be. There was no body which meant he had to be somewhere out there.

But there were no bodies of her people. No semblance of their entire culture left. Where once there had been Alteans there was nothing.

Just like this room.

Suddenly crying wasn't enough for Allura. There had to be something left of Shiro in here. Something that proved he had been here, that he had lived here. Something of his person. Something of his culture. He would not be like her people, gone without a trace. Dead.

With a desperate sort of energy Allura threw herself upon the room by tearing away at his covers, ripping the mattress off the bed, yanking out the hidden drawers and in wall, tossing out generic spare clothes. But there was nothing. Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! There!

A small box was hidden in the back of the last drawer. Desperately Allura snatched it up and desperately opened it with her shaking fingers.

Papers. That was it. Scraps of papers. Allura was about to despair until she flipt one of the papers around and saw what was hidden on the underside.

Her eyes widened in shock. She lifted up another scrap of paper and looked at it. Then another, and another. They all were the same.

They all were drawn in blue ink, marked with pink in the center. They all said the same words. The same string of words were written on each paper. One some they took up the whole page. On others they were scrawled shyly on a corner, nearly hidden. And then some were filled with the words written over and over and over again until the whole page was taken up.

Allura didn't understand. She… she didn't understand. Why would he write these words? What did it mean? Was it a human thing.

She had to know. Shiro was gone. The only thing left behind were these words which he seemed to have obsessed over. This was important. She had to know.

Carefully gathering up each paper, Allura carefully placed them back in the box and then rushed out the door, clutching the box to her chest. But then she froze. It was late. Everyone had gone to their sleeping quarters ages ago. She would have to wait until the castles sleeping cycle was over.

But she couldn't. She already knew there would be no resting for her after this latest nightmare, especially since her source of comfort and support was gone. If she were to return to her room now she would only find herself being haunted by those blue words for the rest of the sleeping cycle.

No. She had to find answers now.

So instead Allura found herself wandering hopelessly through the halls just as she used to in those early days. Only this time, there was no Shiro to find her.

Step after measured step she took until the tapping of her soles on the floor and swishing of her skirt became a steady rhythm she could lose herself to. Unseeing she walked, never breaking from the beat of the silence or blinking out of the stillness of this eternal moment. The box's edges pressed uncomfortably into her chest yet she did not relent her grip. The writing on the papers hidden inside the box hovered before her mind's eye, haunting her thoughts despite how hard she tried to shut herself down into feeling, seeing, and thinking nothing.

"Allura? What are you doing up?"

Allura blinked, startled out of her trance to find that her feat had taken her to the bay where the Lions rested. Her gaze quickly caught sight of a sleep deprived and ragged looking Pidge sitting atop the Black Lions paw, body curled up and resting against a similarly ragged and especially moody Keith. Allura glanced about the room but saw no evidence of anyone else present. The two smallest humans of their group both had their heads tilted and were looking at her with the smallest glint of curiosity in their tired eyes, though Pidge was the only one to vocalise her inquisitiveness.

The princess's first thought upon seeing them was to pull herself together and go comfort them. They were obviously in pain just like her. While she had grown to like Shiro, she could not deny that these two had known him the longest. Especially Keith who Allura had been convinced was Shiro's younger brother until she discovered through a passing comment that both were actually only siblings.

Allura was a princess whose duty was always to her people- a responsibility she felt carried over to the Paladins. She needed her to show them she was strong and unbroken. As an Altean princess, Allura had been taught this all of her life. She was an example others followed and if she let herself cry in front of her people then how could they have confidence in her.

But she had cried in front of Shiro. To him she had laid her most raw and honest emotions. And he had still respected her. He still trusted her. He still believed her to be strong.

The same was for him. She had seen him utterly broken, weeping into her shoulder as he described to her memories that seemed more like nightmares. But she had still thought of him as strong. She still trusted him.

Looking at the two Paladins before her who she considered more like a second family than teammates, Allura felt that showing weakness in front of them would do nothing to dampen their respect and trust in her. Not just that, but judging by their own weary expressions and the glistening sheen on their cheeks they had probably been confiding in one another a moment who had no doubt been confiding in each other a moment ago. Yet Allura knew without a doubt that those two would continue to have confidence in each other despite having cried in front of each other.

Perhaps it was a human thing. To Allura it seemed that baring their weaknesses to each other only made their bond stronger. That is how it had happened for Allura and Shiro. She had let him see her pain, let him see her vulnerable. And yet he seemed to only respect her more for it.

Decision made, Allura stepped closer to the Pidge and Keith and let words from her broken spirit come forth, not even attempting to hide the pain in her voice.

"I… suppose much the same like you. Its… Shiro…. I miss him."

"Yeah…" Pidge, voice barely above a whisper, nodded. She rubbed at her red eyes, skewing the perch her large glasses had on her nose. Keith looked away from them both, though his shoulders hunched forward a little more and he leaned in closer to Pidge.

A moment passed in silence as they all reminisced in their shared sorrow, Allura hugging herself tightly. Then Keith patted the large paw he sat on and asked in a hoarse voice, "You wanna join us?"

Allura nodded. Pidge and Keith scooted to the side to allow her more room and after a moment she was sitting next to the two shortest Paladins, arms hugging her knees as she pressed her back against the cold metal of the Black Lion. Distantly she felt a comforting thrum from the Blue Lion. Every now and again Allura was reminded that she two was a Paladin now when Blue would reach out to comfort her or share an emotion with her. It didn't happen a lot, and only when she was close by to the Lion, like now.

For a while the three Paladins sat side by side, pressed against each other and finding solace in each others presences and silent fellowship. Allura found herself relaxing, eyes drifting shut as the warmth from her fellow Paladins provided comfort, when Pidge spoke up, voice echoing in the large hanger.

"What's the box?"

Allura blinked the haze from her mind and turned to see Pidge leaning forward, gaze locked on the box still clutched in Allura's arms. The princess lifted the box up staring at it in shock. How had she completely forgotten about it?

"Its… I found it in Shiro's room." She said as her fingers worked to try and lift the lid despite their nervous shaking. She pulled out one of the slips of paper and handed it to Keith and Pidge.

"They are all like that, the papers. I was actually wanting to ask you if its a human thing."

Pidge, sniffling a bit before speaking, asked "But… isn't that altean?"

"Well, yes." Allura nodded. "I know what it says. I just wondered what it means that Shiro wrote those over and over. Does doing so symbolise something? Or perhaps it is a human tradition?"

"Well… maybe Shiro was trying to learn Altean." Pidge guessed.

"I know what it is." Keith spoke, voice holding a sort of finality that caught both girls attention.

"What?" They both asked. There was something in Keith's expression that told Allura she had found something very important.

"I didn't know it was Altean… I wonder if he knew."

"Keith, just tell us." Pidge demanded, her sadness forgotten in this one moment because of her ever present curiosity.

"It's his soulmark."

The room fell into silence. Allura could feel Pidge and Keith looking into her eyes, but her gaze was trapped upon the words coloured in blue with a pink center. Her hand reached up toward her eyes. She felt them become damp even as her vision blurred.

"What does it say?" Pidge whispers, but Allura can tell by the tone of her voice that the girl already knows.

" _That is why Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion._ "

Allura's voice breaks after that into bitter sobs. Because Shiro is her soulmate. Because he and her are meant for one another.

And because he is gone.

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 **Sorry this came so late. Hope you crie- I mean, enjoyed it!**


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